The new £1 coin is supposed to be 'unfakeable' - but one eagle-eyed punter thinks he might have spotted the first forged quid seen in circulation.

The 12-sided coin, dated 2016, found in Huddersfield appears different to other recently minted change.

From the side it looks like two coins melted together while the Queen's neck protrudes at the bottom and her head is misaligned, as is the wording around the edge, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner reports.

Its new owner, Martin Shaw, said: "It just didn’t feel right and it was certainly different to the other pound coins. My first thought was it was a fake."

The Royal Mint has previously said new quids are 'unfakeable' and if confirmed it is believed this would be the first in existence.

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The square holograms on the bottom of the new pound are supposedly impossible to counterfeit.

They show a £ symbol if turned one way and the number 1 if turned the other but Mr Shaw said while a slightly less pronounced square was there and he could make out a faint '1' he could not see a '£' at all.

He said: "If it is it’s the first one ever found, apparently.

"The Royal Mint says no fake has ever been confirmed but there are coins with 'production errors' in circulation.

"It says with coins produced in such volumes mistakes are bound to occur occasionally."

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A spokesman for the Royal Mint said: “It is not possible to comment on individual coins without the opportunity of examining them first hand.

“We can say, however, that the Royal Mint produces around five billion coins each year, and whilst there are tight quality controls in place throughout the production process, it is possible that rare variances may occur in a small number of coins, particularly in the striking process.”

Suspect coins can be sent to the Royal Mint for examination.

While an estimated 3% – £50million – of the old round pounds were forged last year we reportedhow the treasury were confident they had reached a "tipping point" and were beating the crooks.

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At the time, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Jones said: "This is a very, very secure coin. The Royal Mint estimate that this is the most secure coin in the world at the moment and they have their own individual and rather secret method of security which is new in this coin.

"You have to stay one step ahead of the counterfeiters but that's exactly where we are right now."

The old pound coins ceased to be legal tender in October but can still be banked.